Falafels with Tzatziki Sauce

When I worked in downtown Toronto years ago I used to get Falafels from a little hole in the wall and couldn't get enough of them. Ever since then I have been searching for a good falafel recipe as I have no idea where to get them here in Utah. I have been unsuccessful until now. I made these a couple weeks ago and then had to make more (and a double batch) last week again as Chris and I couldn't get enough of them. The original recipe was found on Allrecipes.com. I made a few small changes to the recipe, the biggest is adding eggs.

Falafels and Tzatziki Sauce

Falafels
approximately 2 cups Garbonzo Beans (we call them Chick Peas in Canada), drained and mashed
1/2 large onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced/crushed
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 1/2 tsp dried parsley
1/8 tsp ground turmeric
2 1/4 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 egg
1 cup finely ground bread crumbs (I use Italian bread crumbs and might suggest using a little extra parsley, and salt if I was to use regular bread crumbs)
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper or cracked black peppercorns


Mash the garbanzo beans in a large bowl or in a food processor. Chop the onion and cilantro and then combine with the mashed beans. Add the garlic, parsley, cumin, turmeric, baking powder, bread crumbs, salt and pepper and stir until combined. Add the egg and mix well. Using your hands shape the mixture in to small patties approximately 2 inches in diameter and approximately 3/4 inches thick. Make sure to compress the mixture when shaping in to the patties so that they are compact and will hold together well. One batch will make 20 patties of this size.

Heat an inch of oil in frying pan over medium heat until hot or heat the oil in a deep fryer to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Using tongs place the patties in the frying pan or deep fryer. If using a frying pan you will need to flip the patties after 4-5 minutes, or when browned and then cook the other side. You could of course use more oil and essentially deep fry them, but I like to use less oil and do each side at a time. I also like to use an oil splash guard that I place on the frying pan to make sure the oil doesn't splash all over the place.

Serve in a warmed Pita, with Tzatziki Sauce, chopped tomatoes and lettuce.

*Note: Falafels are traditionally round but I like making them in patties as I think they sit in a Pita a lot better this way.

*Note: You can freeze these before you cook them and just fry them after you defrost them. You can also freeze these after they've been cooked. Either way they taste just as good as fresh!


Tzatziki Sauce
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and pureed in a food processor
1 1/2 cups Greek yogurt
1/2 cup Sour Cream
2 garlic cloves, minced/crushed
1/2 lemon, juiced
3/4 tsp dill

Peel the cucumber and then cut it in half and then cut the seeds out, along with the help of a spoon. Cut the cucumber in to a few chunks and place in a food processor to shred.
Squeeze the water out of the shredded cucumber using paper towels, cheese cloth or a thin tea towel.

Combine the shredded cucumber with the rest of the ingredients and refrigerate until ready to serve.

*Note: This can also be used as a dip for vegetables, chips, etc.

Enjoy!

Mango Quinoa Salad

I saw this on "Our Best Bites" blog and had to try it. It was no surprise to me that I loved it. And so did everyone else. Even though it looks gross I promise it is really yummy;)

I love Sara and Kate from "Our Best Bites" and if you haven't found them yet, don't waste another minute, go check them out. I love them because they make everything from scratch (well most things...I'll forgive them that they use cake mixes for their cupcakes;)). But back to the recipe... the biggest difference between the way I make it and the way Sara and Kate make it is that I use 3 mangoes instead of 1 and I use probably double the cilantro.

Mango Quinoa Salad
*slight adaptation from Our Best Bites

2 cups cooked quinoa (1 1/2 cups water, 3/4 cups quinoa)
1 can black beans
3 mangoes, peeled and chopped in to bite sized pieces
1 large red pepper, chopped in to bite sized pieces
6 green onions, chopped
a big bunch of cilantro (approximately 1 cup), chopped
4 tbsp red wine vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil
juice from 1 lime
salt and pepper, to taste

Cook the quinoa and let it cool.

Prepare the mangoes, red pepper, green onion and cilantro and combine in a big bowl along with the black beans and cooled quinoa.

Mix the red wine vinegar, olive oil and lime juice together and pour over the rest of the ingredients and stir until combined.

Add some salt and ground black pepper to taste and cover and let it sit in the fridge for approximately an hour before serving.

Enjoy!

*Note: If you want to know how to cut a mango, check it out here. Instead of cutting the mango with it laying down on the cutting board you can also hold it upright and by holding the middle where the seed is cut the two sides off.

Refried Beans without the Refry

I don't know why I bothered to take a picture of these beans as no matter what they don't look appetizing. Let me assure you however that they are incredibly good! Especially if you or anyone in your family likes a little kick (they can of course be made without the kick and they'd still be good).

The original recipe was of course from allrecipes.com, the usual place we go to when looking for a specific recipe.

Refried Beans Without the Refry

1 lb pinto beans, rinsed
1 large onion, sliced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
3 tbsp minced garlic
1-2 tbsp salt
1 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp cumin
water

Put the rinsed beans, onion, jalapeno, garlic, salt, pepper and cumin in to a crock pot and fill with water and stir to combine. Cook on high for 8 hours, stirring occasionally and adding more water if needed.

Once the beans have finished cooking strain them and reserve the liquid. Remove most of the onion slices and then return the beans to the crock pot. Mash the beans with a potato masher, adding the reserved liquid as needed to attain the desired consistency.

*Note: As I'm sure you can guess I don't usually measure the garlic, salt, pepper, and cumin but I did my best to estimate the amounts I used. I know in specific I used more garlic and cumin than the original recipe called for.

Heather's Quinoa Spinach Salad

My friend Heather taught a healthy eating class for one of our Relief Society activity cooking segments a couple months ago. She made this salad but in the craziness of the evening (Chris was working so I had the kids and I was of course helping Heather with the demonstrations on how to make everything) I didn't have a chance to try it. I made it last week and I am in love. It is seriously so darn yummy that I had it as a side at three different dinners last week.

Heather's Quinoa Spinach Salad

big bunch / bag of spinach
1 cup uncooked quinoa (with 2 cups water to cook it)
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup almonds, chopped, slivered or sliced
2 green onions, finely chopped

Dressing:
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp orange juice
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp real maple syrup
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper

Cook the quinoa and let it cool.
Once the quinoa is cooled combine it with the rest of the salad ingredients in a large bowl.
Combine dressing ingredients and pour on top.

*Note: As I knew we weren't going to be eating a big salad I just threw some spinach, quinoa, cranberries, almonds and onions in to a bowl (I just went with what looked good as far as the amounts of each) and then poured some of the dressing on top. Then the next day I did the same thing. The dressing recipe ended up being enough for me to make salads for 3 different meals, and it was perfect because the salad was nice and fresh each day instead of being soggy if I'd tried to eat it as left overs.

Enjoy!

Easy Pesto Spinach Pasta

I've told a few people about my new favourite dish lately and they've wanted the recipe so I figured I better get it up here.

It really is my new favourite dish...I love that the spinach and tomatoes are fresh and the best part about it is it seriously takes 10 minutes to make!

I came up with the idea one day when I was making Jacob and Eliana some homemade mac and cheese (add a little milk, butter and lots of shredded cheese to cooked noodles - it's 10 times better than the Kraft stuff...I promise) and since I had some extra noodles and didn't want mac and cheese I decided to experiment with a few things I had on hand. Since the first time I made it I crave it all the time... I think I could eat it everyday.


Easy Spinach Pesto Pasta
noodles, any variety
pesto (basil, spinach, anykind would be good)
fresh spinach, roughly chopped
tomatoes, chopped
parmesan cheese
olive oil
salt, to taste

This is so simple I almost don't even need to write directions;)

Cook noodles, drain and return to pot over low heat. Pour a little bit of olive oil over the noodles, then a spoonful of pesto, a handful of chopped spinach, the chopped tomatoes and sprinkle with a generous amount of parmesan cheese. Stir until combined, making sure the pesto is completely mixed over all the noodles. Add salt to taste and serve immediately with some additional parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.


*Note: Sorry I don't have any measurements as it all depends on how much noodles I make. You will be able to tell if you need to add more olive oil or pesto as your noodles will look dry and not all covered with the sauce.

*Note: You could also add some grilled chicken to this dish, or as Chris would suggest cooked and sliced Italian sausage.

The Best Buttercream Icing

I found this recipe online and tested it out on St. Patrick's Day to see if it was really the Best Buttercream Icing and if it was what I wanted to use for Eliana's birthday cupcakes. I didn't think it tasted quite right so I called my sister Rachel, the professional cake decorator. She confirmed my suspicions that the problem was the recipe called for all shortening and no butter and that I should use half shortening and half butter. After making it with half butter I decided that I don't like an all shortening icing but like the flavour SO MUCH BETTER when it's half shortening and half butter. Now it really is the best buttercream icing;)

I also used a little less of the heavy cream than the original recipe called for, but depending on how you want to ice your cake or cupcakes you can keep it the way I've got it here or add a little more of the heavy cream.

The Best Buttercream Icing
1 cup shortening, room temperature
1 cup butter, room temperature
8 cups powdered/icing sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp vanilla
1/2 cup of heavy cream or whipping cream

In a Kitchen Aid or a large bowl with a mixer cream shortening and butter until fluffy. Add sugar 2 cups at a time until well blended. If the frosting gets too thick at any time you can add some of your heavy cream. Once all the sugar is mixed in add the salt, vanilla and heavy cream and mix until combined. Then mix on high until the frosting is light and fluffy. If you need additional cream you can add up to another 2 tablespoons, however don't do this until you've mixed the frosting on high to first see the consistency. As far as the consistency and taste of the icing goes, it is MUCH easier to add more of the heavy cream than to make it too thin and have to try to add more powered /icing sugar.

The frosting can be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks. To use after it's been in the fridge let it return to room temperature and then mix it again for a couple minutes. Then frost as usual.

* Note: This recipe can be easily halved if you don't want to make as much.

Chocolate Cake/Cupcakes with Raspberry Mousse Filling and Buttercream Icing

I decided on this combination for Eliana's cake and cupcakes for her 1st birthday and was thrilled with how well everything turned out. Of course my icing roses surrounding the cake weren't perfect but the overall effect in my opinion at least was. And seeing as it was my first attempt at making these roses I was happy, though I of course learned a few things!

Both the cake and the cupcakes were chocolate cake with a raspberry mousse filling and topped with buttercream icing.

To make cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare two muffin tins with liners and then spray with PAM. Make the Extreme Chocolate Cake recipe and pour into each muffin cup. The easiest and non-messiest way I have found to do this is to fill up a large 2 or 4 cup measuring cup with the batter and then pour the batter in to each cup. Be sure not to fill each cup more than 3/4 full as they will overflow and spread flat (instead of making a nice round top like most cupcakes/muffins). Bake the cupcakes for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.

Remove cupcakes from the pan and cool on a metal rack. Once cooled, fill with the raspberry mousee filling or you can of course use chocolate ganache and then frost with buttercream icing.

To make a 6 inch cake:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare two 6 inch cake pans by lining the bottom with waxed paper and spreading shortening around the sides of the pans (note: you can also use 8 or 9 inch cake pans and cut your cake down to the size you want or you can make an 8 or 9 inch cake). Make the Extreme Chocolate Cake recipe and pour into the prepared pans filling them approximately 3/4 full. (You will have some extra batter which you can use to make some cupcakes.) Bake the cakes for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Remove the cakes from the pan and cool on a metal rack. Once cooled, put one cake on your cake stand / plate and then pipe around the outside edge of the cake with some buttercream frosting (this will keep the filling from coming out the sides of the cake). Then fill with the raspberry mousse filling and top with the second cake and frost with buttercream frosting.

The Best Buttercream Icing
I found this recipe online and tested it out on St. Patrick's Day to see if it was what I wanted to use for Eliana's cupcakes. I didn't think it tasted quite right so I called my sister Rachel, the professional cake decorator. She confirmed my suspicions that the problem was the recipe called for all shortening and no butter and that instead I should use half shortening and half butter. After making it with half butter I decided that I don't like an all shortening icing but like the flavour SO MUCH BETTER when it's half shortening and half butter. I also used a little less of the heavy cream to make the icing a little thicker and easier to work with as far as making the roses.

1 cup shortening, room temperature
1 cup butter, room temperature
8 cups powdered/icing sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp vanilla
1/2 cup of heavy cream or whipping cream

In a Kitchen Aid or a large bowl with a mixer cream shortening and butter until fluffy. Add sugar 2 cups at a time until well blended. If the frosting gets too thick at any time you can add some of your heavy cream. Once all the sugar is mixed in add the salt, vanilla and heavy cream and mix until combined. Then mix on high until the frosting is light and fluffy. If you need additional cream you can add up to another 2 tablespoons, however don't do this until you've mixed the frosting on high to first see the consistency. As far as the consistency and taste of the icing goes, it is MUCH easier to add more of the heavy cream than to make it too thin and have to try to add more powered /icing sugar.

The frosting can be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks. To use after it's been in the fridge let it return to room temperature and then mix it again for a couple minutes. Then frost as usual.

Note: This recipe can be easily halved if you don't want to make as much.


Rose Icing Technique
Tip used is Wilton tip 1M, a large flower tip.

If using this technique to cover a cake with the roses you will need to cover the entire cake with a thin layer of icing first, so the roses have something to stick to. If you are doing individual roses on cupcakes you don't need to worry about this step.

Starting at the centre of the cupcake make a little dollop which will be the centre of your rose and then working outward swirl around your centre two or three times to finish off your rose.

If you are covering a cake with the roses, I recommend starting on the sides from the bottom up and then doing the top of the cake. You can vary the sizes of your roses and fill in extra space with some little swirls (going in the same direction as the roses beside them).

You can of course use food colouring to make the roses different colours or you can use icing spray tint to spray the entire cake with a colour after you're done.


Raspberry Mousse Filling
Whipping cream, whipped up with a little bit of powdered/icing sugar.
Raspberry pie filling

Whip the whipping cream with the powdered/icing sugar then fold the raspberry pie filling in to it. Ratio is about 3 whipping cream : 1 raspberry pie filling

Black Bean Veggie Burgers

Chris found this recipe on Allrecipes.com one day when we ran out of my veggie burgers from Costco. As it turned out I like these better than the Costco ones so now they're the only ones I eat.

Black Bean Veggie Burgers

2 (16 oz) cans black beans, drained
1 red/orange/yellow/green bell pepper, cut in to small pieces
1 large onion, cut in to small pieces
6 cloves garlic, peeled
2 eggs
2 tbsps chili powder
2 tbsps cumin
2 tsp Thai chili sauce or hot sauce
1 cup - 1 1/2 cups bread crumbs

In a medium bowl, mash black beans with a fork until thick and pasty.

In a food processor, finely chop the bell pepper, onion and garlic. Then stir in to the mashed beans.

In a small bowl stir together the egg, chili powder, cumin and chili sauce/hot sauce.

Stir the egg mixture in to the mashed beans. Mix in the bread crumbs until the mixture is sticky and holds together.

Divide mixture in to 8 to 12 patties, depending on the size of the patties you want.

You can cook the burgers immediately or put in the freezer to use when you need them.

To grill: Preheat outdoor grill to high heat. Lightly oil or spray PAM on a piece of aluminum foil and place patties on foil. Grill about 8 minutes on each side. Add a slice of cheese near the end of the 8 minutes on the second side.

*Note: Chris always sprinkles some Worscheshire sauce and a little salt on the burgers when he cooks them.

To bake: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place patties on a baking sheet lightly oiled or sprayed with PAM and bake about 10 minutes on each side.

To freeze: Place the patties on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper and once frozen remove from tray and place in a Ziploc until you're ready to use them.

Serve with avocado, grilled onions, tomatoes, and lettuce!

Enjoy!

Chimichangas

I've never thought I liked Chimichanga's until Chris made one for me. I'm sure it's the fact that it's fried, but I couldn't believe how much I loved it. And they're super easy to make which is a bonus when you don't have much time to make dinner.

Chimichanga's
Tortilla's
Refried beans
shredded cheese
lettuce
tomatoes
sour cream
Cholula hot sauce, optional

Heat a thin layer of oil in a frying pan, just enough to fry one side of the Chimichanga at a time.

If using uncooked tortilla's like we do, grill a tortilla then fill with refried beans and some cheese.

Fold the sides of the tortilla over the beans and cheese and then fold the bottom up over it as well.

Place the folded side down in the oil and fry until golden brown, then flip it over.

Place on paper towels and pat the excess oil off and serve immediately, topped with sour cream, chopped tomatoes, sliced avocado's (or guacamole), chopped lettuce and Cholula.

*Note: You can of course make a chicken, beef or pork Chimichanga, but we love the bean and cheese ones!

Enjoy!

Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream

Chris experimented with chocolate ice cream recipes and finally settled on just adding cocoa to the vanilla recipe we always use. He tried using baking squares but he wasn't satisfied with the end result and said it had a waxy feel to it. After making it quite a number of times he decided that 3/4 cup of cocoa is the perfect amount. It's so yummy I want some just posting about it;)

You can of course add anything you want, but we've added Oreo's (2 1/2 sleeves out of the big Costco box) to make a Chocolate Cookies and Cream as well as marshmallows (because I love Rocky Road but always pick out the nuts).

Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream
4 eggs
2 1/2 cups sugar
5 cups whole milk
3 cups whipping cream
3/4 cup cocoa
2 1/2 tbsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt

Beat eggs until light. Add sugar and continue to beat until thick. Mix the cocoa and milk together until the cocoa is dissolved. Then add the whipping cream, vanilla and salt and mix well. Pour into a 4 quart freezer and place in ice cream maker, surround with ice and rock salt and allow to mix. Check periodically and add more ice as necessary.

*Note: If you have a 5 or 6 quart machine, then use 6 cups whole milk, 4 cups whipping cream and 1 cup of cocoa.

**Note: If you are concerned about Salmonella you have 2 options. You can substitute the eggs with an egg substitute such as Egg Beaters (follow instructions on carton). You can also heat the egg/milk mixture to 160 degrees F slowly then cool it quickly in the fridge or freezer.

Pizza Sauce

I taught a class on how to make homemade pizza at Church last night and thought I'd better post my recipe for pizza sauce for those who will be looking for it on here. I should mention that I typically just throw the spices in without measuring them, but for those who feel a little more comfortable following a recipe with actual measurements I did my best to estimate the amounts of each spice that I use.


Pizza Sauce
1 - 6 oz can tomato paste
6 oz water (use the empty tomato paste can to measure)
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp basil
1/4 tsp oregano

Combine the tomato paste and water until well mixed. Add the rest of the ingredients and spread over dough.

This makes enough to cover 2 pizza's.

*Note: If you're only making 1 pizza you can freeze the rest.

*Note: This can also be used as a dipping sauce for your pizza or breadsticks.